Fitness apps are to today what diet fads were to the 80’s: there are a million choices, and very few will give you results. To aide in the search, we waded through the sea of software to pick out some of our favorites that will keep you motivated and burning through those extra calories.

Technology can get a bad rap, often blamed for the increasingly sedentary lives many people are leading. But your phone, tablet and television don’t have to be a license to sit still. They can actually be used as motivators to get and stay fit. In fact, in a global survey of exercisers, Life Fitness found that exercisers that use technology to support their workouts consider themselves to be more successful at achieving their weight and fitness goals. Try one of these tech-driven tools to lead a healthier life:

Heart Rate

A heart rate monitor can be a great tool for monitoring workouts. Most cardio machines feature an embedded heart rate monitor that clearly displays how hard the body is working. You can also wear a heart rate monitor for indoor and outdoor workouts. To effectively us it, it’s important to know your maximum heart rate. This is the highest number of times your heart can beat in one minute and offers a key figure in determining training intensities. Using heart rate to create interval training sessions or steady-state workouts, can strengthen the heart and improve cardiovascular fitness.

If you attended today’s webinar with Life Fitness President Chris Clawson, you’re in the know about open API’s, open platform products and why it’s important for our industry. For those unable to attend, not to worry, you can still view the webinar on-demand.

Open platform products are all about making the gym more mobile friendly. But what does a mobile friendly gym really look like? And why is it important for your business? Check out our newest infographic to find out: